The Alyansa Tigil Mina Blog

http://www.mb.com.ph/PROV2006062968041.html
By ELLALYN DE VERA

Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Angelo Reyes welcomed yesterday a Supreme Court (SC) ruling that placed all mining operations at the Diwalwal “gold-rush” area in the Agusan-Davao-Surigao forest reserve under the supervision and control of the government.
The same ruling also cancelled all mining permits in the area.

Reyes said the decision would enable the government, through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), to control and supervise mining operations in the area.
This would ensure the protection of the environment as well as the health of the miners, prospectors, and residents.

Justice Minita Chico Nazario promulgated last Monday the decision, reversing a Court of Appeals (CA) ruling that the Exploration Permit No. 133 of Marcopper Mining Corp. (MMC) had long expired and, therefore, the transfer of the permit to the firm’s subsidiary, Southeast Mindanao Gold Mining Corp. (SEM), was illegal.

The SC also declared as illegal the segregation of 729 hectares (has) in the forest reserve as non-forest lands which were opened to small-scale mining operations in 1991 by then DENR Secretary Fulgencio Factoran Jr. through a department administrative order. (more…)

Thursday, June 29, 2006
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2006/june/29/yehey/prov/20060629pro2.html
By Mark Ivan Roblas, Correspondent

THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources has began separate inquiries into the reported mercury contamination in Nueva Vizcaya and illegal fishing in La Union.
Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes said he has received reports that residents of Barangay Didipio Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya, may need to be relocated for the mercury contamination of the river.

Reyes said the river became polluted because of the mercury used by small-scale miners in the area.

In Santo Tomas, La Union, some 300 fishermen in 10 coastal villages have asked the town council and the Coast Guard to stop the operation of big commercial fishing vessels within the town’s 15-kilometer fishing zone, Reyes said.

He instructed the department’s regional officers to look into the pollution and destruction of the environment in both provinces, and to take action against the companies and persons involved.
Reyes said his department is committed to promote a clean and healthy environment and to protect the country’s natural resources from exploitation.

“Sustainable development is not necessarily incompatible with a clean and healthy environment,” he said.

Thursday, June 29, 2006

http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2006/june/29/yehey/prov/20060629pro4.html

SAN MIGUEL, Bulacan: For mountaineers like Everest conquerors Leo Oración and Erwin “Pastor” Emata, the sight of the historic Biak-na-Bato being slowly destroyed by marble quarrying is more excruciating than climbing the world’s highest mountain.

“We are mountaineers and our lives revolve around mountains. This sigh is not only cruel and harsh but also feels like a different kind of torture for us,” Oración said, shortly after he and Emata and other members of the First Philippine Mount Everest Expedition Team reached the top of Mount Manalmon in Biak-na-Bato.

The two mountaineers scaled the slopes of Biak-na-Bato and reached the top of Mount Manalmon in a record 30 minutes as part of their campaign to save the historic site.
Biak-na-Bato was the mountain hideout of the Filipino revolutionaries in their war of liberation against Spain. It also became the site of the peace treaty between the Spanish and the Filipinos on August 9, 1897.

The expedition members were joined by 200 mountaineers, environmentalists, representatives of civic groups, students, local policemen and the media. Together, they witnessed the destruction of the nearby Mount Nabio due to the extraction of marbles through dynamite blasting. (more…)

June 28, 2006
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2006/june/28/yehey/business/20060628bus11.html

ATLAS Consolidated Mining and Development Corp. has secured an environmental compliance certificate from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for the company’s Berong nickel project in Palawan.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Atlas said it plans to develop the project initially as a direct shipping operation to ship “unprocessed high grade saprolite ore to international nickel smelters and unprocessed limonite to regional acid leach, ammonia leach and blast furnace plants.”

“Atlas has entered into an agreement with Toledo Mining Corp. (TMC) . . ., whereby TMC initially funds the development of the direct shipping project to earn an interest. In addition TMC has provided a $5-million convertible loan to Atlas to cover future funding contribution requirements by Atlas to the project,” the disclosure read.

The company said it has conducted confirmatory exploration and resampling program in the initial production plan since December last year. (more…)

- Mr Geoff Davis, MD

Sydney, June 26, 2006

ACN Newswire - http://www.acnnewswire.net/press/en/32529/MEDUSA-MINING-LIMITED.html

MEDUSA MINING LIMITED (ASX: MML) - Exciting opportunities in the Philippines - Mr Geoff Davis, MD; Boardroomradio is pleased to announce that MEDUSA MINING LIMITED (ASX: MML) has published an audio file. The following presentation “Exciting opportunities in the Philippines” is now available as an instant audio download to your computer. You may also transfer this information to your listening device as an IPod podcast.

The BRR service is based on streaming audio sent in compressed form over the internet and displayed as it arrives. You do not have to wait for the whole file to be downloaded before you can hear it, instead the media is sent in a continuous stream and is played immediately as it reaches your computer. Please note that during live broadcasts there can be a delay of approximately 1-2 minutes, depending on traffic through your Internet Service Provider.

Broadcaster: MEDUSA MINING LIMITED (ASX: MML)

Broadcast Title: Exciting opportunities in the Philippines

Broadcast Type: Audio stream

View the Audio stream for MEDUSA MINING LIMITED (ASX: MML) by clicking on the following links.

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About MEDUSA MINING LIMITED

Mining exploration

About Boardroom Radio

Sydney-based Boardroomradio (BRR) is an Investor Relations multi-media portal delivering audio webcasts to the entire online investment community, including brokers, fund managers, analysts, and private investors with a potential reach of over 300,000 interested people. Redistribution partners, delivering BRR broadcasts to their subscribers, continue to grow, and today include egoli, Eureka eport, IRESS, Man Financial, Market Informer, Westpac Broking, and international channel ACN Newswire. Typical broadcasts could include your AGM, results briefings, broker roadshows and brief interviews to add depth and scope to your ASX announcements. For more information, please visit www.brr.com.au.

June 26, 2006
Source: MEDUSA MINING LIMITED(ASX: MML)
Source: Boardroom Radio
From the Asia Corporate News Network
http://www.acnnewswire.net
Topic: Audio Webcast
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By Zinnia B. Dela Peña, The Philippine Star -
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200606260709.htm

06/26/2006

Listed gold and copper producer Philex Mining Corp. is considering
listing a newly-spun off company, Brixton Energy & Mining Corp., to raise funds
for an aggressive exploration program.

During the company’s stockholders’ meeting Friday, Philex chairman and
chief executive officer Walter Brown said listing a smaller company would
have a greater impact.

Brown said the company is looking at listing the shares of Brixton
either on the second or third board of the Philippine Stock Exchange. Brixton is
now in charge of the Philex’s coal operating contract.

Philex, according to Brown, is considering all possible options to
generate the funds necessary for intensified mining and exploration activities
to take advantage of high metal prices. (more…)

TRADING SYMBOL: TORONTO & OSLO: CRU FRANKFURT: KNC OTC-BB-other: CRUGF
June 26, 2006

LONDON, United Kingdom - Crew Gold Corporation (”Crew” or the “Company”) (TSE & OSE: CRU; Frankfurt: KNC; OTC-BB- other: CRUGF.PK.

Agreement on new Gold property in Mindanao signed.

Crew is pleased to announce it has signed an option agreement with Plethora Mining Corporation of the Philippines to earn into the Tandic Gold Project in San Mariano Municipality, Compostela Valley Province in south eastern Mindanao, the Philippines. Under the terms of the agreement, Crew will acquire an option to earn an initial 50% of the property through expenditure of USD 1 million on exploration and development over a period not exceeding 5 years. Following the 50% earin-in, Crew can sole fund exploration, development and feasibility studies to earn up to 90% of the project.

The large concession area of approximately 10,500 ha is more than three times the area Crew and its associated partners hold in the Masara mine and represents a major growth potential for the Company in both gold and copper-gold. The area is largely uninhabited mountainous terrain is situated approximately 11 kms east northeast of Crew’s Masara mine operations and adjacent to the Amacan Copper mine of North Davao Mining Corporation.

Geologically the prospect is part of the Masara Mineral Province where rich mineralization of epithermal gold-silver veins and porphyry copper-gold deposits related to Miocene to Pleistocene magmatism occur along the Philippine Fault System. (more…)

http://www.mb.com.ph/MAIN2006062767877.html

By REY G. PANALIGAN

The Supreme Court (SC) yesterday affirmed the cancellation of all mining operations within the Agusan-Davao-Surigao Forest Reserve known as the Diwalwal Gold Rush Area and ruled that under the law, the government may, on its own, take over the mining operations or enter into an agreement with any qualified entity.

In a decision written by Justice Minita V. Chico Nazario, the SC reversed the Court of Appeals (CA) and ruled that the Exploration Permit No. 133 of Marcopper Mining Corp. (MCC) had long expired and, thus, the transfer of the permit to the firm’s subsidiary, Southeast Mindanao Gold Mining Corp. (SEM), was illegal.

But the SC affirmed the CA’s ruling that declared illegal the segregation of 729 hectares within the forest reserve as non-forest lands which were opened to small-scale mining operations in 1991 by then Natural Resources Secretary Fulgencio Factoran Jr. through Department Administrative Order No. 66 (DAO 66). (more…)

http://www.mb.com.ph/PROV2006062767861.html

Environment Secretary Angelo T. Reyes said yesterday that the country can get the most from its supply of rare tea rose marble by manufacturing them into finished products, instead of exporting them as raw materials.

Reyes made the statement following a visit last week to a 330-hectare site in Barangay Biak na Bato where tea rose marble had previously been quarried.

Even in its raw form, the beauty of the rare marble astounded Reyes during his inspection of the quarry site located in Doña Remedios Trinidad, Bulacan.

“The marble at Biak Na Bato is precious. I went there the other day, and I saw the export quality of the boulders which is really a rarity… that is in demand abroad,” he said.

The chief of the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said the Philippines can get better returns from the marble by having it processed by local industries.
The industries would generate badly needed jobs and taxes for the government, and spin off other economic activities in Bulacan and in other areas of the country, Reyes said. (more…)

Transmitted by CNW Group on : June 21, 2006

TORONTO - A group of four community members from Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug who’ve walked over 2000 km since May 9, 2006 delivered a message to the Government of Ontario regarding ongoing mining disputes in their traditional territory during a news conference today at Queen’s Park.

“We want our children and grandchildren to continue to use the lands and resources to pursue their usual vocations of hunting, trapping, and fishing,” said Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug community member Mark T. Anderson who led the group of walkers from Pickle Lake to Toronto. “We want to protect the environment at the potential drilling/mining site plus the surrounding area which includes our Kitchenuhmaykoosib Lake.”

Despite a community declared moratorium on resource development since 1998 and Supreme Court of Canada rulings to consult and accommodate with First Nations prior to resource development, Platinex exploration company received permission from the Government of Ontario to start drilling on Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug traditional territory located 603 km north of Thunder Bay in February 2006. (more…)